Jesus is Alive!

For Easter, I've created my own Resurrection Eggs to tell the story of Jesus' death and resurrection!  I use six jumbo sized plastic eggs, each filled with a different object, to teach my preschoolers why we celebrate Easter.  Six is a manageable number of eggs to open and reveal, when considering the attention span of young children, and the large objects work well in a larger group setting.  Besides the jumbo size of the eggs are fun and spark their curiosity!

I've seen jumbo eggs at both Michael's and Hobby Lobby.  A set of three is $19.99.  However, all Easter items are 50% off at Hobby Lobby, and with a coupon, you can get them nearly half off at Michael's as well.  You can still teach the same lesson with normal sized plastic eggs. Just fill them with smaller objects like the ones I suggest for the craft.  However you tell the story, have a blessed Easter celebrating the glory of our risen Savior!

UPDATE 2022: It was time for me to purchase new eggs for this lesson.  These are the ones I purchased this time from Amazon.

Bible Truth: Jesus is Alive
Bible Story: Jesus died on the cross, and in three days, rose again!
Bible Study: Matthew 26-28; Mark 14-16; Luke 22-24; John 17-20

teach

 

resurrection eggs for preschoolers

Here is a pictorial outline of my lesson.  I open one egg at a time, revealing the object, and describing what happened to Jesus.  I also show pictures, such as from a children's Bible, to enhance the visual aspect as I tell the story.

 Soldiers whipped and beat Jesus.

They put a crown of thorns on His head and laughed at Him.

They nailed His hands and feet to a cross, where He hung and died.
All of His blood came out of His body.  He did this so that His blood can wash away our sin.

His friends wrapped His body in a clean cloth.

His body was placed in a tomb.  A big rock covered the tomb, and soldiers guarded it.

After three day, His friends found that the stone was rolled away, and the tomb was empty!
They were filled with joy!  Jesus is not dead.  He is alive!

Description of objects:

1. Whip - leather lacing wrapped with black Duck tape.
2. Crown of Thorns - small craft branch held together with hot glue and floral wire.
3. Nail & Cross - a railroad spike we've had for years (just find the biggest nail that you can!) and a stained wooden cross painted red.
4. Linen Cloth - small piece of white material
5. Tomb & Stone - a paper plate, cut in half, stapled together, painted brown, with a crumpled brown paper bag stuffed in the opening.  (This could also be a craft for the kids to make!)
6. Smiley Face Stickers - individually cut.  In traditional Resurrection Eggs, the last egg is empty, because the tomb was empty.  For young children I've found this to be anti-climatic.  I want the resurrection to be the most exciting part of this story to them.  When I dramatically open this egg, the smiley face stickers fall out like confetti!  The kids clamor to pick them up and we take them to the table to use in our Resurrection Egg craft.

 

sing

Sing, praise and celebrate.  Jesus is alive!

• One, Two, Three (Jesus is Alive) from Little Praise Party

• Alive, Alive by Sunday School Jamz

• Celebrate Jesus by The Donut Man

play

resurrection egg hunt

Children are accustomed to finding Easter eggs filled with candy, which is fine, but in this game they can hunt for eggs that will help them remember what Easter is truly about!

Fill plastic eggs each with an object like the ones in the craft below.  Invite children to close and cover their eyes while you play one of the Easter praise songs above.  Hide the eggs around the room.  When you are ready, stop the music to cue the children that they may uncover their eyes and hunt for eggs.  

When they find an egg, they can grab it and rejoin you in the teaching area.  Let each child open their egg and tell you what part of the story is represented by their object.  If you have pictures to accompany the story, display them, and let the children also point to the picture that corresponds to their object.  Collect the eggs from the children, and hide them again, as long as time allows or as long as the kids are interested.

craft

 

my own resurrection eggs

Kids will be able to recount the story of Jesus' death and resurrection as they talk about each of the objects in this craft.

You will need:

• this page printed on card stock
• leather-like strapping
• thin black Duck tape
• grapevine wire (found in the floral section of a craft store)
• cross stickers
• gauze
• small stones
• smiley face stickers
• foamie egg stickers (optional)
• Tacky glue
• scissors
• wire cutters

Prepare the whips, crowns of thorns and gauze ahead of time.  In class, help the students attach each object into the correct egg.   I've found that it is easiest to attach the whip to the page by leaving a bit of the tape unwrapped around the leather strapping, so that you can simply tape it down.

Read these ideas to continue celebrating Easter and the resurrection of Jesus at home this week!